I’m going to be pondering this one for a while: “Each of us possesses an irreplaceable and inimitable vocation, that originates from our own lived experience and becomes manifest through interaction with others.” -Pope Leo XIV, Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Jan 24, 2026 (emphasis mine). Why is this significant? Here are some initial thoughts: 1) A vocational journey and the discernment surrounding it is as unique as each human being. 2) We cannot imitate the saints that have gone before us in a material kind of way. A person, as St. Carlo Acutis reminds us, is not meant to be a photocopy of someone else. 3) Our lived experience matters in vocational discernment more than people realize. A vocation is not an external mission imposed on me from without, it originates, Pope Leo XIV reminds us, from within. 4) Vocation is also a social experience. I cannot discern in isolation. I am called in the context of community—whether family of origin, friendships, people who have formed me and educated me, my faith community, or other kinds of relationships— I understand myself in relation to and from others. God gives me my identity, but I discover who I am in my interactions with others. Sometimes those relationships help me and sometimes they harm me. Is there anything that stands out to you in this quote? The whole message can be found here: